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How to get properly into ... swimming

Swimming has long been recommended as a healthy and gentle way to improve fitness and work off extra calories and it is, provided you get the technique right.

Swimming is the quintessential training for health irrespective of age as it exercises both the cardio vascular system and muscles. Swimming is also favoured by those who have to forego other types of sport because of back pain, joint problems or because they are overweight: in water you do not have to support your own bodyweight and natural buoyancy means that your weight is only one-tenth of that on land. In addition, water acts as a brake on movements and so reduces the risk of injury. Finally, water offers a high degree of resistance and so is effective training.


Avoid swan necks and screw kicks
Most amateur swimmers use breaststroke to gain forward momentum. However, they tend to tense the neck in order to keep the head above the surface of the water. As a result, the body is too upright in the water and this reduces speed. In addition, it puts an unnecessary load on cervical vertebrae and neck muscles and so causes tension. If, as well, you swim with what is known as a screw kick, the pelvis is askew and leg movements are not synchronous. Strength is exhausted without much forward progress. It can also cause knee problems. The right way: stretch the body so that it lies flat in the water. Imagine the head as an extension of the spine and only lift it out of the water to breathe. Breathe during the arm stroke. If you have knee problems, it is less strain on the knees if you do breaststroke arms with crawl legs.

How to breathe
For beginners, the crawl is easier to learn. It is also inherently a faster stroke and so you can plough up and down the pool more quickly. If you keep your head under water, this almost automatically ensures that the body remains horizontal in the water. However, what needs a little practice is the breathing technique. The right way: always breathe in and out on the same side, i.e. breathe in either when you do the right arm stroke or when you do the left arm stroke but do not alternate. Do not lift your head to breath. Just turn it to one side and keep the upper body straight. In order to make maximum use of the brief period above the surface of the water, always breathe out under water.

Don’t let the backside sag
With back crawl, breathing is much easier. It is also kinder on the back. However, if you let the bottom sag and you raise your head, this increases water resistance and reduces speed. The right way: stretch the body to its full length and use the lane rope or something on the roof as a guide to keep you in a straight line.

Get swimming
Beginners should divide their training into blocks, i.e. split the overall distance you want to swim into manageable units, e.g. swim 10 x 100 metres or 5 x 200 metres with a rest in-between. Kieser Training is good preparation for swimming. Targeted strength training for the arm, shoulder and back muscles is not only good for rapid progress but strengthens the entire body in a balanced way and so prevents muscle imbalances. The pullover or torso arm (C1, C3), row (C7) and chest press or arm cross (D6, D5) exercises are particularly good for a swimmer’s physique.

I have reduced my handicap by 3 strokes

What customers around the globe say about Kieser Training


Fred Camilleri, 57
Kieser Training member in
Melbourne, Australia

“I have never been a fan of gyms with their music and mirrors, yet I have always understood the benefits of exercise. Having spent a sedentary career in the IT industry, I noticed a Kieser leaflet and thought I would give it a try. I was experiencing neck pain and had been attending an osteopath 4 to 5 times per year.

I started Kieser Training 18 months ago and I could not be more impressed with the overall health benefits I have gained. I have not needed to visit the osteopath since, my pains have been eliminated and I feel much better physically.

One of my passions in life is golf and to my surprise Kieser Training has made an incredible difference to my golf game. My increased strength has allowed me to hit the ball 10% further and my endurance around the course, my control and flexibility have all improved. I have reduced my handicap by 3 strokes. I have no doubt that this is due to my Kieser Training program. I find Kieser Training to be professional, sophisticated and very clean. The staff are to be complimented on their knowledge and ability to provide just the right level of advice and assistance. I have certainly recommended Kieser Training to my golfing mates who have commented on the noticeable improvement in my game”.

 


Josephine and Hans van Mensvoort,
55 / 56, Kieser Training members in
Eindhoven, the Netherlands

“We joined Kieser Training because of back problems that only increased over the years, and the dissatisfaction with the support at my sports club and physician.

I first tried the training for one month on a special offer and as the problems started to diminish, I was convinced and joined for a period of two years. My husband had doubts about joining, but after his first month of training, he also joined for two years. We find that our problems have much improved because of the training at Kieser Training. Furthermore, the support is very good. If you do anything wrong, you get corrected immediately, which keeps the results up.

The atmosphere at the club is very relaxed and there are never too many people around. In that way we can train at our own speed and you get full attention if you need any support. Because of the personal contact and the results in particular we stay motivated to return every week.”

 


Hugh Fowler, 58
Kieser Training member in
London for 9 years

After 20 years of excruciating “bad backs“ I finally had micro-discectomy. After that I could not lift my daughter from her cot, had to kneel down to brush my teeth and never thought I would ski again. I tried everything, from physiotherapy, to Pilates and Alexander Technique.

It was only after a 12-week course of Medical Strengthening Therapy at Kieser Training that I began to get back to normal. I have been trainig regularly ever since. Now I can garden all day or go skiing without ever thinking about my back.

 

 

 

Column

My Kieserian Achilles heel

A heretical thought: As a Kieser customer is it OK – how can I put it – to like one of the machines a little less than all the others? A machine that if I had my way, I would banish for ever from my training world. Or to put it in plain English: May I hate the fiendish F2 just a teeny bit?

I think I may!
It’s a monster that turns up every time in my Kieser Training routine. Whenever I reach Exercise 4 in my programme, it provides me with a pointed and yet merciless reminder of the existence of my abdominal muscles. They do exist – of that I am sure – because when I do other exercises, they keep going and don’t fail prematurely. However, the F2 fills me with dread. I know before I start that my abdominals will give up the ghost in just 60 seconds, a ridiculously short period of time. By the time I get to the third repetition, I am already wondering how I can possibly continue to lift and lower this ludicrously low weight in the required tempo without a heave-ho action. Maybe, there’s something wrong with my anatomy?

In other words, the F2 is the weak point on my path towards strength. It acts as a weighty reproach to my staying-power. It is my Kieserian Achilles heel. No doubt about it, the F2 and I have a love-hate relationship!

Michaela Rose

In brief

Kieser Training works. That’s the title of a large scale study that Kieser Training’s R&D department currently carries out in Germany.

In a nation-wide campaign earlier this year, we asked for 500 volunteers who were not training at Kieser Training to join the study that is designed to measure the effect of our training on backpain and other health issues. Candidates had to divulge quite a lot of personal information to be considered. So getting a response from 49,000 people went far beyond our expectations and indeed created considerable organisational challenges. The study with the 500 volunteers is now under way since April and lasts six months. Some of the 48,500 not selected have joined Kieser Training anyway. We hope to convince the remainder to join on the basis of the results of the study due to be released early next year. Background of the study is the enormous socio-economic cost that back problems create in the western world. In Germany alone this cost is put at 48.9 billion Euros.

Six of the volunteers share their experience on a special web-site with blogs and videos – if you speak German, have a look on www.kieser-training-wirkt.de.

Impressum

Publisher   Kieser Training AG, Systemzentrale, Kanzleistrasse 126, CH-8026 Zurich, Switzerland

CEO   Jörg Pribil

Editors   David Fritz, Tania Schneider, reflex@kieser-training.com

Regular Contributor   Michaela Rose, www.sportjournalistin.de

Programming   Michael Fuchs Online-Marketing, www.mfo.ch

Reflex is published quarterly.

All material in this magazine (including its online version) is © 2009 Kieser Training AG and cannot be used without written permission.